a new year. a new tradition.

I was up late at night, complaining to myself about my tooth woes, while watching the Food Network (which is silly and torturous when you can't chew), reading blogs and checking in on Twitter.
That is when I came across this beautiful post from Bringing Up Burns.
At one in the morning. Hungry. Grumpy. In pain. Mind reeling with ideas.
Why can't I be normal? Why can't I plan ahead?
That question will most likely never be answered, but a new family tradition was born.

Back to School Eve

Erin's Back to School Eve? Ridiculous. Gorgeous. Inspiring. Thoughtful.
The ruffled streamers? Those will haunt me until I have some of my very own.
In every single color.

It is something that I can aspire to, even perhaps pull off next year.

Next year when I don't decide the night beforehand, or have a two hour drill fest at the dentist during naptime the day of said party.

So what is a girl to do?
Beg Erin to borrow the crowns.
Go get the crowns.
Then go to the dentist to get working on a whole different type of crown. A way less cute, and much more expensive type of crown.

Afterwards, rush to Target straight from the torturist, I mean dentist, fill another prescription, hoping that this will be the one that doesn't make me puke and want to die. Wander aimlessly through the aisles in a novocaine stupor, while they fill it (why does it take 30 minutes to put twenty pills in a bottle anyway?) trying to gather supplies for the "feast".

What was the feast you ask?
Simple chicken and rice. On the nice dishes. With nice glasses. Outside. Right after the girls had a little Back to School Eve swim.
For dessert? Zingers. Yes. Zingers. With candles. The same Zingers that I deny my kids the other 364 days of the year. The same Zingers that they pleaded for the other day at Target. Zingers that made both of them say that they were the best dessert ever. (Tell me why I bake again?)

We talked about their new teachers. Their new classrooms. Their new friends. We talked about what they were looking forward to. We laughed. We encouraged. We celebrated. We got excited for what the new school year will bring. But best of all, we started a new tradition.

OK .. . that is so funny, because just yesterday I was thinking about Zingers. My mom got them for us once or twice in our childhood years and I LOVED them!! I was wondering if they still made them and lo and behold, they have them at Target?? Your girls are beautiful. :)cheryl

How adorable! My little on starts kinder next year. We might have to take up this kind of tradition! I wanted to tell you I am SO inspired by your blog! I have just started my own creative blog and I linked to you here:

what a truly magical idea.....I too am wondering what are 'zingers'....is this another new "American only" thing us Aussies are missing out on (check marshmallow fluff IN A JAR, manwiches & much much more that I learn about from my dear American friend Beth)

yaaaay! what a fun tradition!! & such a good reminder that things don't have to always be hand made & perfect!! thoughtfulness = love hope you feel better soon!Ps: i'm a lurker. coming out from the shadows! love your blog :)

I'll tell ya why I love this post. Because this year I had the great idea of having Back to School Eve. My visions were like that of a Christmas Eve dinner and then putting the kids to bed and setting up the school area(we homeschool)downstairs. Well, it all worked out up until my husband and I attempted to assemble the new desks we had bought. It turned out I had purchased a completely different desk than I had planned. After my not-so-pretty tantrum I made do with what I had until I could get back to the store. The kids were completely surprised on First Day of School morning and all was well in the end. I was so glad to read your post and see that others do this as well. All the more encouragement for me to start planning big for next school year!!!! Love your blog.

I think this is why I love blog reading. The inspiration you get from watching other "regular mom" doing special things and making memories. We had a back-to-school fashion show/bbq/thank you party. We celebrated with the grandparents and a special aunt. The girls made special treats to say thank you for all the summer fun that their AWESOME family gave to them. It was such a great day.

I haven't been online in over a week, so I've been playing catch-up. I'm so sorry you're struggling with tooth issues-how is it that something so (relatively) small can make every cell in your body hurt? Sending some prayers up that it gets resolved quickly and as inexpensively as possible. I also share in your pain of keeping my little girl (who is definitely pushing out of 5t much to my dismay) looking like a little girl and not a Bratz doll. I HIGHLY recommend Lands End (catalog and online) for very cute, very appropriate and pretty reasonably priced girls' clothes. Plus they are all color coordinated for lots of mixin' and matchin'.One last thing-Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. They were the best then. Woudn't eat them with my dog's mouth now, laugh. Have a fabulous weekend!